Every device directly connected to the Internet needs an IP address. There are two versions: IP version 4, better known as IPv4, and IP version 6, aka IPv6. IPv4, the current version, holds 4,294,967,296 addresses, and about 92 percent of them have already been distributed. IPv6, the newer version, holds 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 addresses.
The issue is simple: IPv4 addresses are running out, and fast. The solution to the address depletion is IPv6. This seemingly endless number of addresses holds the future of the Internet, but it requires companies that use and distribute IP addresses to adapt their networks and systems to use IPv6.
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